Northland.
Mount Nisa.
On the endless mountains, traces of Typhon can be vaguely seen.
On the cold and lonely mountain peak, the temple of the three goddesses of Moirae faces the cold wind of the northland.
In the past thousands of years, the three goddesses who exercised fate exercised their authority here and wove brocade depicting all living beings... But now is different.
Today, there are no busy figures on Mount Nisa.
Atropos and Lachesis are gone, and only the youngest of the three sisters is left.
Clotho, the weaver of the thread of all living beings, is also the only one who has never been harmed by the poison of fate.
Her part has always been borne by her two sisters.
She only needs to sit on Mount Nisa and fulfill her innate responsibility.
Even today, Lachesis has been sealed, but she has not been hit by the backlash of fate.
Because unlike Atropos, the goddess who measures fate has no chance to react at all, and her time is set at that moment.
Including herself, she and the poison of fate were sealed behind the door, so that Clotho was unaware of her fate...
So she sat alone on the boulder on the top of the mountain, with her back to the center of the earth.
That was where humans were active, and it was also where the two goddesses of fate had been, but she didn't want to see them.
With an escapist mentality, Clotho stared at the cold North Sea in a daze.
"Sister... Have you found the 'mastermind' you are looking for?" The goddess'
pupils were dilated, and she didn't look at anything specifically, but took everything in her eyes in a daze.
She didn't know what she should do now, or what she could do...
"..."
"Hmm? What is that?"
There was a long silence, accompanied only by the sound of the wind.
However, at a certain moment, Clotho seemed to have discovered something.
Even if she didn't use her right to observe fate, she could still feel that another huge deviation seemed to be happening.
Boundless malice came from the void, but this time it was different from usual.
The wisps of black air seemed to be about to shine through Lachesis's shadow on her fate and onto her body.
This should not have happened, because as long as the goddess of fate wanted to, they could bear this level of backlash.
Compared with Atropos in the past, Lachesis was far from the upper limit of what she could bear, and she had no intention of giving up the responsibility.
So feeling the boundless sin and the panic that penetrated into her bones, Clotho knew that her second sister might have been in trouble.
At least she had lost her consciousness and could not actively sense the tide of fate.
Whoosh!
Subconsciously turning her head, the goddess looked to the west.
There, the boiling fate seemed to be burning, and a black shadow that penetrated the sky and the earth pierced the sky.
The black shadow pressed down, carrying the oppression of the material world, carrying the turbulence on the long river of fate, it carried the weight of a piece of sky, and smashed from the west to the North Sea.
Bang -
no sound came, because the great sound is silent and the great elephant is invisible.
With his arms trembling and holding each other, Clotho looked at the North Sea that was hit, and felt his eyes go black.
In this moment, countless destinies were changed... and this is just the beginning.
"Garden... that garden, Ladon!"
Biting her lower lip, Clotho wanted to stand up, but found that her legs could not use any strength at all.
Although at this moment, the backlash of fate has not really fallen on her, she knows.
If this is a war, they have already lost before it even started.
·······
Swish...
Western Sea, the sea area near Atlas.
Lurking in the sea, Epimetheus took a look at the son of Poseidon falling from the sky, and chose to continue watching the trajectory of the stick falling.
Simple, direct, without any fancy.
This stick carries the weight of the sky. Whether it is a human or a god, as long as they do not have that "qualification", it is like facing a finger of the god of the sky.
When the stick fell, the North Sea shook, the waves touched the clouds, and the aftermath calmed the vast sea.
A trace of surprise flashed in his eyes. The latecomer knew very well that if this attack was aimed at him, it could have killed half of his life.
From now on, in the entire human world, among the gods and humans, there are probably only a handful of beings who can fight this great hero who is still a mortal.
And if he takes over the power lent to him by Atlas in a while, even if the gods are fully restored, they will probably be defeated.
After all, in terms of combat power, this Titan who is in charge of the [Power] priesthood is already extremely powerful, and the nearly ten thousand years of supporting the sky and the rise of world power have made him stand at the peak of powerful divine power, and almost no one can defeat him.
With his help, neither the hundred-headed dragon Ladon nor the gods can do evil in front of that human.
"Tsk... This is destiny..."
"Pandora, you have also held the 'fate' for so long, why can't you be like him?"
Shaking his head and sighing, Epimetheus turned his gaze back and looked at Triton who fell into the sea again.
It is your destiny to die at the hands of the witch holding the magic jar. The death you sought has come to you now.
"I don't know whether it is destiny that makes heroes, or only heroes can bear destiny... hehe... never mind, no matter what, I can't be a so-called hero."
"Pandora, go and make good use of Triton's last life."
"Poseidon is gone, and the trident is far away from the material world. The [tsunami], [storm], and [earthquake] that he controls are all uncontrolled, and the laws are disordered... and soon, the two beings who can use the power of gods in the world will fight each other on the sea... this is your most suitable opportunity."
"It's just... ah..."
He sighed again and finally kept silent. Epimetheus's eyes finally drifted across the sky.
Pandora ignored him with a dead face, but she was the one that the Earth Mother really valued. Compared with her, he was just a by-product.
Hercules would not know him, but he was like the center of this era, and he was qualified to hold up the sky.
Even his brother, whom he had always looked down upon, had now escaped from his cage and followed this great hero in the world. I wonder if there would be any new opportunities.
What does this prove?
This proves that sometimes it is not that you don't work hard, but that luck has never been on your side.
If he and Pandora were swapped, Epimetheus would not care about the control of the Earth Mother. As long as you are still useful, you have the opportunity to do something. This was the case with his marriage to Pandora arranged by Zeus.
But unfortunately, when you are not even useful, you really can't do anything.
Shaking his head secretly, the latecomer was about to turn around and let Pandora alone, but he suddenly seemed to remember something and looked back at his brother's position.
Prometheus's disguise could deceive others, but his style and habits could not deceive himself... But next to him, what did that person do? "Zeus's people?"
"Is it possible that after all these twists and turns, I still have to rely on this God King to break the impasse..."
Epimetheus narrowed his eyes slightly, but he didn't show it. He just kept Dionysus' existence in mind.
Everyone has his own unique position in the world. Looking back from a hindsight perspective, many major events with widespread impact may have originated from an insignificant ordinary person.
If there is a chance, he might try to contact the other party. After all, Zeus himself is unlikely to meet him, but his men can still try.
On the one hand, the God King is no longer the same as he was in the past. It is too dangerous for Zeus to advance to the greatness, and he is not as easy to understand as Gaia, so it is really difficult to deal with.
On the other hand... it is because of the existence of Mother Earth. It's okay
for me to contact other gods, but if I contact Zeus... I'm afraid she will go crazy again.
·······
Bang-
above the sky, under the starry sky.
Holding the copper stick in his hand, the great hero swung it out.
So casual and natural, without any stagnation. Over the past thousands of years, this pillar of heaven has long been integrated with the image of supporting the sky.
At this moment, as the image finds its most suitable bearer, the copper pillar naturally recognizes its master.
So he smashed it with a stick, turning the sea upside down.
In Hercules's palm, the copper pillar changes as he wishes. He can hold it in his hand, or turn it into a divine pillar across the sea.
"It seems that I succeeded."
He took a deep breath, and a heartfelt joy surged in his heart.
Along the way, the great hero has never had a weapon that is really handy, even the copper sword forged by the god of craftsmanship seems to be just so-so.
After all, according to his habit, he still prefers heavy weapons that can exert strength, rather than light weapons that are biased towards skills... Until today, when he had the copper stick in his hand, he really felt what it was like to be satisfied.
"Sir Atlas."
He flew up and met the giant god who supported the sky again.
This time, the great hero finally saw some importance in the other's eyes.
"Ancient Titan, as you can see. I have picked up this copper pillar and felt the weight of the 'sky'."
"Now, am I qualified to stand here and fulfill my promise to you?"
"Of course."
Without further difficulty, the Sky-holder spoke calmly.
He had never intended to refuse the other party. The so-called test before was just to prove that Hercules was indeed the man.
So looking at the tiny human in front of him, Atlas retracted one of his arms that was supporting the sky.
The next moment, the sky trembled, as if it had sunk three points to the northwest.
However, having supported the sky for nearly ten thousand years, the Titan would not let it collapse so easily.
With a strong push of his right arm, the downward trend was immediately blocked.
Seeing that the sky was stabilized, Atlas' left arm broke out of thin air, and then disappeared into the air bit by bit.
"This..."
In the dark, with the sky as a transit point.
Hercules only felt a strong force pouring into his body, as if Ander had once lent him divine power.
Mortals cannot bear this huge power, even other demigods in the world will be destroyed by the power of the gods.
But when it comes to him, although these powers from others are so violent, they can never destroy the body of the great hero.
"Human, with the symbol of supporting the sky, the shackles of the world are open to you."
"Just because you can ignore it doesn't mean that the person who provides you with power can also... So only the power you get from me can allow you to use it freely in the battle with Ladon."
"This is one of my hands, it contains 30% of my power. With it, you can kill Ladon yourself."
"When that demon dies, this power will naturally return to me... But human, you must remember."
The Titan of the Sky spoke lightly, with a grim tone.
"You have taken over my power, and you will take over the sky for me one day in the future."
"When you have solved everything, the sky will be your responsibility."
"Of course, I will."
The great hero nodded in a deep voice.
"Hercules... a promise is worth a thousand gold."
Holding the copper stick tightly, the hero once again looked at the island above the North Sea, the garden where the Queen Hera planted the golden apple tree.
His intuition told him that once he set foot on the island, the shackles of the God King might no longer bind the offspring of the King of All Monsters, but would let it go out to sea to fight him.
Only one of the two of them could survive, which was the proof of the remains of the demon on the hero.
Ladon would never let him go, either from the perspective of absorbing the remains of his own kind or from the psychological point of view of revenge for his own people.
But today, the hero is no longer afraid of it.
"Ander, I won't break the golden apple tree, will I?"
He asked in his heart. If it was an authentic golden apple tree, Hercules would not worry, but the one planted by the Queen of Heaven was a pirated one.
It does not have the former's immortal ability, nor does it have the vitality of constantly regenerating by absorbing the source of life.
Once it is broken, I am afraid it can't even be saved.
"Don't worry, it won't."
"Ladon and it are on the same island, and they haven't destroyed it yet, which proves that there must be some power protecting its safety."
"Just go, and let me see the power of the Titan gods by the way."
Shaking his head slightly, the puppet gave his own answer.
"Okay."
After getting a positive answer, the last bit of hesitation disappeared.
Taking a step forward, Hercules crossed a distance of thousands of miles.
The divine power representing [strength] gathered in the body of the great hero, and the compatibility of the two was also extremely compatible.
In a few steps, the island of the Queen of Heaven was already in sight.
As if sensing the arrival of the newcomer, the giant dragon with a hundred heads roared to the sky as before.
However, this time, it was greeted only by the stick light falling from the sky.
"Roar——"
No communication, only confrontation.
Outside Hera's garden, a hundred-headed dragon roared to the sky.
A black storm rose from the sea, and the shackles that had bound it were released.
Inside the garden, the sweet smiles of several sea fairies and nymphs turned into fear in an instant.
They were servants who guarded the garden and collected holy fruits under the order of Hera. For the sake of the Queen of Heaven, even the gods would treat them with courtesy.
However, at this moment, the sky was covered by a huge shadow, and the demons that the God King had subdued here escaped from the cage.
The gods would care about Hera, but Ladon would not care about the gods.
If he was free, they would surely die!
Boom——!
No one paid attention to their fear, and the copper stick shattered the storm and fell on Ladon's dragon head.
In just a moment, the dark scales broke inch by inch, and the hard bones also made a difficult creaking sound.
The demon felt pain. Apart from Zeus, this was the first existence in the world that really hurt it.
But Hercules' attack only aroused its ferocity. The remaining ninety-nine dragon heads roared at the sky, and Ladon's mouth spewed out a huge black fire.
Looking at the "pendants" on the tiny figure in the sky, the big demon was furious.
"Roar - human!"
"You killed them?"
The anger turned into a real flame, and joy and pain intertwined in Ladon's heart.
It inherited Typhon's anger, and it was sad for the death of its kind; but it was also the son of Typhon, and it was also happy for the death of its kind.
Because since they are already dead...
"Then I just need to swallow you, and I can become the new demon king!"
No, not just the demon lord, but the hundred-headed dragon king!
It will surely arouse the demons of the whole four seas, and eventually kill them on the earth, along the ridge of Mount Olympus, and finally slaughter the entire God clan!
Huh -
the wings spread out, without the restraint of the power of the God King, Ladon soared straight up.
It is a flying dragon, not a guard dog.
Now the whole world is its battlefield, and here, it can exert a stronger power.
Boom -
use lion skin to block the flames, use copper stick to disperse the black clouds.
Looking at the fierce dragon with a hundred heads, Hercules' heart is calm at this moment.
Even if it was just a few short rounds, he had already judged that Ladon was not his opponent. With the help of Titan, he already had the power to surpass the opponent.
"So from now on, you are just a grindstone for me."
Dancing a stick flower in the air, the weight of the sky caused the space to collapse slightly.
Taking a step forward, the great hero said nothing, just smashed the heads of the dragons with a hundred heads one by one.
·······
The sun rises and sets, and the moon falls and rises.
Unlike the previous battles, this time, although Hercules' fight with the demon did not shake the earth, it was enough to make the sea churn.
The sun rises and the moon sets, the sun sets and the moon rises.
Ladon's fighting power is extraordinary. He is the most powerful among the sons of Typhon, and even more so after breaking free from the suppression of the law.
A head was shattered, and it grew again after a while.
The neck was broken, and the fallen dragon head turned into a new dragon, continuing to fight enemies in the four seas.
So the ocean shook and the ocean currents changed course.
Under the impact of the "sky", under the influence of the "sea", and under the shaking of the "earth", hail, hurricanes, tsunamis, and earthquakes.
Whether on the sea or under the sea, disasters occur every moment.
No one is surprised by this. This seems to be the result of the sky pillar shaking the sea.
But they didn't notice that hidden under this natural disaster, there is a force that keeps fueling the flames.
...
East China Sea, in the old temple of the original sea god.
The wind and waves from the outside world don't seem to affect it, and the tides from all directions stop here naturally.
Because this is the beginning of water, this is the source of the sea.
The concave surface of the earth is its original appearance. Even after tens of millions of years, the image of the original "sea" of Chaos World still remains here, in the hands of the oldest sea god Pontus.
This is eternal authority, even if he has long been asleep.
Even if Oceanus can break through here, he will never be able to take the ownership of this place away from Pontus.
Because although these ancient gods born in the first era are not like the original gods, some of them are still different from the gods of later generations.
Just like the relationship between the sun and Hyperion, as long as the sun is still there, no matter how the mother tree is eroded or how the priesthood is divided, its concept will always have an unbreakable connection with its original owner.
If Gaia will never lose the last trace of her great status by the laws of the world no matter how many mistakes she makes, then they will never lose their identity as true gods no matter how the world changes.
This is the difference between them and the later gods, and it is also the grace that only exists at the beginning of creation... Of course, it is precisely because of this that the symbol of the ocean cannot be born without the existence of Pontus.
Oceanus has long felt that the size of the ocean is enough to give birth to greatness, and even in recent times, it has been growing at a rapid speed.
As the master of more than 70% of the ocean, theoretically he can try to go further.
But because of the lack of the original image of the ocean, the symbol of the ocean and water can never be completed.
He knows this, and Nereus knows it too.
Pushing open the door and walking out of the palace, Pontus' eldest son, the Soft Sea, politely closed the door behind him.
Standing in front of the palace, looking at the violently turbulent sea in the distance and the churning ocean currents, a smile climbed onto his face.
For a moment, this sea god, who has always appeared in the image of an old man, seemed kind and kind, like an old man next door, or a respectable teacher.
"Oh, a war between gods..."
He smiled and shook his head. Regardless of whether the people fighting were gods or not, their power was no less than that of real gods. Nereus naturally would not worry about a name. He could feel that whether it was Ladon or Hercules at the moment, their power was enough for him, the true god, to avoid them.
However, at this moment, the reason why he appeared here was naturally not because of the strength of the two.
It was because Nereus knew very well that even if two powerful gods fought, it would be impossible to shake the East Sea from the West Sea. This was beyond the ability of the true gods.
Chaos today is not the same as before. Except for the great power of the gods, no one can influence the other side of the world from one end by force alone, unless it involves authority... and it is authority related to the sea god.
Then the question is, can the symbol of "sea" on a pillar of heaven do it?
Others are not sure, even Zeus can only doubt it.
Because the authority of the gods is "separated by mountains", the king of gods also dare not make a rash judgment in the field of the ocean, but Nereus dares to say that it can't do it.
Stirring up the wind and rain in the West Sea is already its limit. How can it affect the east of the earth?
However, now it has done it, and even the waters around the ancient sea god's palace have been slightly affected.
This ability is not something that a pillar that has punished the son of the sea god can do. It is difficult for Poseidon to do it himself... But Nereus knows that there is a situation where a god can use his power to exert destructive power that even he himself can hardly do when he is not present.
"That is to imprison him in the abyss, isolating his power from the world, and there is no one with similar abilities to perform this responsibility on his behalf."
"If this situation continues for hundreds or thousands of years, the laws corresponding to his power may riot." "
It's just that Poseidon has only disappeared for a short time, and these laws should not have such problems now."
"So the only explanation is that someone borrowed something that is very closely related to Poseidon himself and forcibly "stimulated" the rules that lost their master in some way."
Nereus whispered to himself, not knowing who did it.
But he knew that the medium that did all this was most likely the unlucky Triton. And the reason why the black hand chose to do this at this time was to avoid the eyes of the gods.
With the battle between that human and Ladon, everyone would think that this kind of riot of marine disasters was a normal phenomenon, even if there was doubt, there was no way to prove it.
However, the person who took this step did not know the Sea God well enough, so Nereus saw some clues from it.
And if he wanted, he could use his power of the sea's gentleness to appease the law of riots, and then nip the opponent's plan in the bud.
But...
"But you don't have to do this."
The sea water was shaking, and the ocean currents came.
Stepping on the turbulent undercurrent, the ancient Titan, the Lord of the Ocean, actually left the River of the World at some point and appeared in the domain of his old rival in his true form.
Faintly, with his appearance, in the more distant and grand domain, the turmoil that affected the entire four seas became more and more intense.
Even many of the Sea God's palaces built on the seabed were toppled in such waves.
"Hehe... Your Highness Oceanus, it's been a long time since we last met."
"It's just that what you said is not good. As the future Lord of the Olympian God, how can I turn a blind eye to this natural disaster?"
"For the stability of the God's Court and the peace of the four seas, I will definitely help."
Nereus smiled and turned to look.
Just looking at the unresponsive expression of the Ocean God, Nereus shook his head helplessly.
"You are so boring."
"I will do my best to try to suppress the human who colluded with the Titan, snatched the Sea Pillar, attacked the Queen of Heaven Garden and brought disaster to the world. But his power is too strong, and I can't do anything at all."
"He seems to be destined by heaven and invincible. He only needs to stir the sea with that copper stick, and the sea creatures will be dizzy, and we sea gods will be trembling with fear."
"It's not even over yet, because the harm caused by the other party is more than that."
"The West Sea lost the Pillar of Heaven, and the ocean lost the Sea Emperor. With the superposition of the two, it is reasonable that the sea will become dangerous and unpredictable, and the laws will be abnormal for a long time in the future."
"If the King of Gods has any objection to this, he can just check it himself - um, by the way, remember to take care of your daughter."
"Although Eurynome is only the god of water and grass pastures, there is no guarantee that she can't see the changes in the ocean... Your Highness Oceanus, you can solve this problem."
The smile remained unchanged, and the old sea god's face was still kind.
But without a sound or a sound, the turmoil in the four seas became more intense.
For the first time, Chaos, the original sea god, the ocean god, and the sea king appointed by the god king, the laws represented by the three of them tried to stir the sea at the same time, causing him turmoil and anxiety.
For a moment, in the cycle of the ocean and water, the symbols that had not yet condensed into a shape seemed to tremble slightly, rejoicing in the unity of the will of all sea gods.
Opposite Nereus, Oceanus looked at him deeply, then nodded and said:
"Of course, she won't ruin things."
"Very good."
Nodding with a smile, the old sea god smiled as usual.
"In that case, let's get started."
"With Poseidon gone, there is a suitable reason for the disorder of the ocean's laws."
"For some time to come, because of the losses suffered by the ocean, I also have a reason to stay away from the sacred mountain and stay in the ocean."
"In mortal terms, now all the errors in the accounts have been solved, and all the problems are caused by his behavior, and have nothing to do with us."
"Soon, I even plan to send someone to the sacred mountain to cry to the king of gods about how much impact this human
's actions have caused on the ocean, so as to reduce his vigilance against us..." "Haha, when everything is over, if that human is still alive, I will definitely let all the believers of the ocean gods include him in the sacrifice - according to the human's words, call him the 'scapegoat hero', or the 'account settlement hero'... Your Highness Oceanus, what do you think of this title, hahahahaha..."
He made a joke again, but the ocean god remained silent, which made the old sea god somewhat bored.
But this was just a small matter, and Nereus just wanted to use a joke to cover up his inner tension.
There is no other way. If you want to create a great symbol of the ocean, you must combine the three greatest sources of the field of "ocean and water" - the original raw water and pure water represented by Thesis, the ocean currents and rivers represented by Oceanus, and the original image of the ocean represented by Pontus.
However, the first two have been together for thousands of years, so it is naturally easy.
But the hostility between the latter and the former two was so long that once the fusion began, there would be a "running-in period" that would cause the ocean laws to be disrupted.
Under normal circumstances, this conflict and fusion of laws would inevitably lead to drastic changes in the sea, causing all the gods to focus their attention, which is why they have been slow to act.
Until now, Nereus, in cooperation with the devil of hell, has taken Poseidon away; before he could do anything further, someone else has stirred up the tide of the four seas.
If you don't take what God gives you, you will suffer the consequences.
Since there is such a good opportunity now, it is obvious that neither Nereus nor the Lord of the Ocean will let it go.
Without any prior discussion, it was even more unclear what the other party wanted to do.
Without even meeting each other, Pandora and the two major ocean gods coincidentally began to work on the same thing.
In the boundless source sea, the authority of [Material Destruction] and Poseidon's original divine power intertwined, and the sea fueled it.
With the legacy left by the Sea Emperor in this world as the core, the power of both sides produced an effect of one plus one greater than two.
Far below the West Sea, Pandora herself did not quite understand the situation.
"My power... is it that strong?"
A trace of confusion flashed in her eyes, and then she returned to her original indifference.
Pandora just followed Gaia's previous instructions and continued to provoke natural disasters in the four seas.
In the dark, the divine power left by the Sea Emperor even resonated faintly with her.
However, she is no longer the same person she used to be. After so many years, Pandora also knows many taboos that belong only to the gods.
The divine power cannot be taken away, let alone by someone like her who gained power by housing the "corpses" of gods.
The ancient weather Titan has been gone for so many years, but there is no other god in the world who dares to claim that he has mastered the [weather].
So no matter what she does, this is something that cannot be changed... but it doesn't matter.
With a blank expression, Pandora plucked the string of destruction.
No matter what it is, she will do it if someone asks her to do it.
She has been doing this since a long time ago, since she brought destruction to the bronze humans.
...
Fight from the sea to the sky, and then from the sky to the bottom of the sea.
The sun rose to the sky six times and fell from the sky six times.
There was no god to intervene in their battle. Hercules and Ladon had only each other as opponents.
The boiling dragon blood spilled all over the sea, and the roar of the dragon shook the clouds.
The hundred-headed dragon lived up to its reputation, and it once injured the hero in the place that was not covered by the lion skin.
But when the morning light rose from the east again, Ladon finally used up all his strength.
Its huge body fell on the sea, and ninety-nine tumors squirmed on its neck.
Ladon tried to regenerate flesh and blood, and its powerful vitality gathered on the broken surface.
However, the great hero had long anticipated this, so he used the venom flowing from the Hydra's fangs to curb the life of the demon.
Ladon tried to revive his spirit and summon the wrath of Typhon that burned the sky.
However, the great hero also noticed its movements, so he blew the bone flute transformed from the larynx of the sea siren, making the demon's spirit scattered.
With no other choice, Ladon wanted to dive into the seabed, hide his body, and fight him after the poison was expelled. However,
his body was nowhere to hide in front of the eyes of the Caucasian Condor, and there was no way to escape the attack of the great hero.
In the end, he wanted to compete with his human opponent in endurance, but after absorbing the legacy in the Sphinx's field, the great hero was able to fight it for three years without sleep.
When all methods failed, Ladon's defeat was inevitable.
If it had met the fledgling Hercules, perhaps it could have won.
But at this point, there was almost nothing in the world that could be the enemy of the great hero.
Stepping on the water, Hercules looked at the demon in front of him.
The copper pillar supporting the sky showed its true form and pressed the hundred-headed dragon under it.
At this point, the winner was already decided.
"Ladon," the great hero asked the last dragon head of the great demon, "Do you have anything else to say?"
"We are enemies, and you want to kill me. But we don't need to fight, just because I want to enter the Queen of Heaven's garden."
"I won't let you go, but if you have any wishes, I may be able to fulfill them for you...if that doesn't violate my principles."
"...Roar..."
Without saying anything, the only response to Hercules was a weak roar and Ladon's unyielding eyes.
It looked at the great hero, and it seemed to be looking at the land behind him, looking at the sacred mountain on the land.
Typhon's anger burned in his blood and soul, and even death could not extinguish it.
Looking at this scene, Hercules understood what the other party wanted.
It only needed a death like Typhon and the God King's endless fighting spirit.
Bang -
the last blow, ending Ladon's life.
Hercules picked up the copper stick and dragged its body towards the Holy Island.
The hundred-headed dragon was dead, and next, no one would stop him from getting the golden apple.
At this moment, the River of Oblivion in the underworld was already waving to him.
As long as the corresponding potion was prepared, there would be no obstacles in front of him.
...
"Hu..."
"Hu... Hu..."
"Is it safe outside?"
On the Holy Island of the Queen of Heaven, in the garden where the golden apple tree was planted.
The sea nymph poked her head out from the nearly broken barrier and looked at everything in front of her in horror and shock.
It was like a hurricane passing through, and like a meteor falling into the wild.
Except for the core orchard, there was almost no intact place on the entire island. Looking around, it was all devastated.
Farther away, the sea was surging with terrifying waves, storms and tsunamis, a scene of doomsday disaster.
The sea nymph, who had never seen such a situation, was stunned and didn't know what to do.
The gods treated her with great courtesy and mortals worshiped her because she was Hera's servant; but demons and natural disasters didn't know who she was, so the sea nymph didn't dare to run around.
Not knowing whether the disaster had passed, she could only pray to the great Queen of Heaven to notice the danger here... However, at a certain moment, the sea nymph, who closed her eyes and prayed, suddenly felt that she was shrouded by a shadow.
"Huh?"
"What happened... Ah——!"
With a deafening scream, her eyes opened and the huge body of the beast dragon Ladon came into view.
The sea nymph retreated in fear, but she was tripped by a tree root in a few steps and fell to the ground in a panic.
"No... I don't want to die yet... I, I..."
She trembled and spoke without thinking.
At this moment, the shadow of death loomed over her, and the sea nymph had almost lost her judgment.
The garden's barrier could not stop this demon, and she was sure that -
"Hello, this respected caretaker."
The hero came out from under Ladon's body and greeted.
However, when he saw the sea nymph for the first time, he realized that the other party seemed to have misunderstood something.
Taking a step forward, Hercules stretched out his hand and wanted to help her up. "Don't be afraid... Ladon is dead, this is his body."
The hero explained in a deep voice.
"Corpse...corpse?"
The trembling body gradually calmed down. Hearing this, the sea fairy finally calmed down a little and looked at the demon that she used to be so afraid of.
Although the breath was still strong, the vitality was no longer strong.
Ninety-nine heads were chopped off, and the last one's eyes had lost their luster.
The sea fairy was relieved and relieved.
Looking at the hand stretched out by the hero, she was about to use it to stand up. Unexpectedly, when the hand was halfway stretched out, it seemed that he suddenly remembered something, and she couldn't help but hesitate to ask.
"Your Highness looks a little unfamiliar... I wonder what kind of power you hold. Haven't we met before?"
"I'm not a god." To be honest, Hercules explained, "We have indeed never met before."
"Not a god?"
Frowning slightly, the sea nymph hesitated for a moment and couldn't help asking again, "Then which god's servant are you, and the honorable prince has granted you immortality?"
"No."
Shaking his head again, Hercules vaguely felt that the other party's attitude seemed to have changed a little.
"I am not the servant of any god, and no one has granted me immortality."
"You may not know me. I am a human from the earth, named Her--"
Pah--
Before he finished speaking, a crisp voice interrupted the hero's self-introduction.
The sea nymph tried to knock down Hercules' outstretched hand, but failed and snorted coldly, standing up from the ground on her own.
"So you are a mortal from the human world... You are not qualified to have physical contact with me."
"Your life is still too short. This is not the place for you."
"Okay, leave. For your kindness, I will not care about you accidentally entering the Queen of Heaven's garden."
"Leave quickly. I will pretend that I have never seen you."
The words flowed like flowing water. In a blink of an eye, all the panic faded away, and only a hint of pride and confidence remained on the face of the sea fairy.
Standing aside, Hercules did not react for a while. He was stunned for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing.
Retracting his outstretched hand, the hero was a little helpless for a while. Well, he really didn't expect to encounter such a thing before.
But it doesn't matter. He just came to get the golden apple.
Even if the guard's attitude is not very good, he didn't intend to do anything to the other party.
"Well, since you have some prejudice against mortals, I will leave here after I take the golden apple."
Shaking his head slightly, the hero planned to bypass the other party.
But before he could take a step, another sharp voice came from behind him.
"What did you say? You actually want to steal the golden apple?"
"Not stealing," Heracles took a deep breath and turned around and said, "This is the reward I deserve after completing the trial."
Not only the previous one, but when he turned around, he saw that behind the hero, several other nymphs and sea nymphs also noticed the movement here and saw the dragon corpse here.
Frowning slightly, the hero didn't want to get entangled with them. But after hearing his explanation, the other party blocked him directly.
"What trial, what reward?"
The sea nymph said righteously, and she did not retreat.
"This is the garden of Her Majesty the Queen of Heaven. No one may take the golden apples here without Her Majesty's will."
"Moreover... Her Majesty's fruit is her reward to the gods, and you still want Her Majesty's fruit?"
"How can this be allowed? What do you, a human being, want the golden apples for?"
"Hmph, I think you should stay here for now. As for how to deal with it, wait for Her Majesty to make a decision in person!" "
?"
Not knowing what to say, looking back at the huge corpse of Ladon, Hercules' last bit of patience was exhausted.
So that's it, the same guy as Triton... It seems reasonable.
One has been tied up and punished since the Bronze Age, and the ones in front of them are likely to have been guarding the golden apple tree here since the end of the last era... They have almost no understanding of humans, and they are still stuck in the description of the fanatics of the gods and the golden age.
They fear demons, but not themselves.
Because in their eyes, humans are born not to resist gods, and their existence is born because of gods...
Stepping forward, the great hero's face was calm. Although he had no ill feelings towards the Queen of Heaven whom he had never met, it did not mean that he would allow the sea nymph in front of him to ignore his dignity.
"Get out of the way."
Hercules warned in a calm voice.
"Don't even think about it!"
With a shout, seeing that the human in front of him was actually trying to force his way in, the sea nymph suddenly stretched out her hand and called a dozen poisonous snakes from the garden behind her.
The poisonous snakes spit out their tongues and rushed towards the hero at a rapid speed.
Seeing this, Hercules did not take them seriously. He just grabbed them casually and prepared to pinch the vital parts of the poisonous snakes with force...
"Huh? This scene..." He
was stunned on the spot, allowing the remaining poisonous snakes to bite him, but they could not even hurt his skin.
When he pinched the seven inches of the poisonous snakes, for some reason, a long-lost memory was recalled from the depths of the hero's mind.
That was when he was just born... He was still in a cradle.
And facing such a baby, the Queen of Heaven, who was high on the sacred mountain, lowered her eyes.
Heracles, the glory of Hera, was actually the shame of the Queen of Heaven for not recognizing the child of her rival, and a testimony to her unbearable deeds.
So under her will, two poisonous snakes climbed into the baby's cradle... and were killed on the spot by the newborn baby.
It seemed that from that moment on, Hercules had already shown his supreme talent.
Waking up from his memories, the hero looked at the poisonous snakes in his hand with a complicated expression.
Queen of Heaven Hera... It was hard to say whether they were enemies.
She had accidentally fed her young self milk, but in the end, she mercilessly killed him.
Glancing at the people present, the hero knocked them out casually, and then strode to the core of the garden.
Here, the golden apple tree sways gracefully, with hundreds of fruits on the tree.
The branches are not the main body, and the fruits it bears do not have such powerful effects. In other words, the difficulty of bearing fruit is also reduced.
"...I never thought that the queen and I had such a past..."
"Forget it, take these golden apples first."
Originally, he only planned to take one, but when the old memories were awakened here, although Hercules had not figured out how to deal with the relationship with the goddess, it did not affect him to take more as the "interest" of the goddess' past.
The legitimate queen persecuted her husband's illegitimate child... It is indeed difficult to say right or wrong about this matter, especially when the other party is half of his "wet nurse".
With some entanglement in his heart, the great hero just silently took action and picked the fruits that filled the garden.
"Is this the golden apple?"
"Yes, this is the golden apple."
Without staying in the Queen of Heaven's garden for long, Hercules, with the fruit he had obtained, used a copper rod to stabilize the tsunami and wind and rain around the Holy Island, and together with two companions, set up a large pot on the edge of the island.
The various medicinal herbs collected along the way were piled up beside him, and the golden apple he had just picked was the first.
Just looking at these so-called "golden apples", Prometheus was a little disappointed.
"Well, maybe it is also a golden apple."
"But compared to the real golden apple, this is just a fruit that is very useful to mortals."
In the ancient times, when the silver humans were created, the Forerunner had followed his father to the residence of the Earth Mother, which was still her Delphi Plain.
There, he saw the real golden apple tree and the fruits that made the gods excited.
Compared with them, these so-called golden apples in front of him were just for show, and their only effect on the gods might be to speed up the regeneration of their bodies after destruction.
Apart from that, only the taste makes sense... Of course, this is the God's opinion.
For humans, these golden apples may not be any different from the original ones. Because its greatest function is to give mortals close to eternal life.
Close, not absolute, because the power of the golden apples will eventually run out, but this day is long and measured in tens of thousands of years.
Shaking his head slightly, Prometheus no longer paid attention to this fake.
He just took out the [Book of Purgatory] and found the page with the potion formula.
"Begin, make your potion."
"It's not difficult. This is not a magic potion in the traditional sense, but a decoction with unique imagery... It can put your existence between 'life' and 'death' and avoid the recognition of certain rules."
"Okay."
Nodding slowly, Hercules took the [Book of Purgatory].
Only by watching this scene did Dionysus on the side suddenly react.
What potion, what rules of recognition, what is it used for?
Aren't they the team that assisted Hercules in completing the Twelve Trials? Could it be that the god of the west wind had been here before after defeating the giant dragon Ladon?
"Ahem, what is this used for?"
Dionysus asked, pointing to the cauldron in front of him.
"Of course, it is used to make a potion called 'Living Hell Potion'."
He explained. At this point, the great hero also wanted to see what choice his companion would make.
"You just heard about its function. It can reverse the state between life and death, making the person who takes it neither alive nor dead, and avoid the constraints of certain rules."
"Certain rules?"
Dionysus continued to ask, not knowing why.
"For example?"
"For example, the power of the water of the Styx."
Hercules answered lightly.
"The Styx?"
Hearing this, Dionysus was startled, and then he suddenly realized.
"So you already knew it."
The power of the water of the Styx, when the great hero mentioned this word, his first reaction was the Styx, the river of oaths, and then the Acheron River that blocked the entrance to the underworld.
According to the arrangement of Zephyrus and the God King, their next step is indeed to go to the underworld.
The attitude of the Sky-holder is clear, and the next is Hades, the King of the Underworld.
Although the underworld has always been regarded as a remote place by the gods, it does not mean that Zeus does not value their existence.
On the contrary, the underworld gathers too many secrets. If he had not personally walked through the abyss, I am afraid that Tartarus would be a stop on Hercules' journey.
Dionysus did not know all of this, but he knew a part of it.
"So your potion was originally prepared for the trip to the underworld? In fact, this is unnecessary."
"Chiron, the ferryman of the Styx, would never dare to stop you from crossing the river. At most, he would play a little trick on you... Well, it's better to be prepared, after all, that is the underworld."
Nodding, Dionysus said he understood.
Beside him, Hercules was silent after hearing this, and finally just shook his head with an inexplicable expression.
Is this really the case? It turns out that the subsequent trials arranged by the gods are also in the underworld? This is really a coincidence guided by fate.
Looking up at the copper stick standing near the island to stabilize the sea border, the hero felt more and more the power in the dark.
Atlas said that holding up the sky does not depend on the size of the power, but more on the qualifications.
The whole world may not be able to find a second person with this qualification, but he just happens to have it.
However, there is no love or hatred without reason in this world.
He is so different, so what is the price?
Typhon was born great and glorious, but their final fate is to lose their lives and everything.
If one day in the future, he is in the same situation as it, what choice will he make...
"Ander."
The hero asked in his heart while his hands kept moving.
"I heard from His Majesty Prometheus that the God King tried to surrender it in the Typhon disaster?"
"That's right." Ander affirmed.
"You say... what was it thinking at the time?"
"How should I know."
Shaking his head slightly, the puppet guessed:
"No one knows how the King of Gods used threats and inducements, but he probably said something he cared about."
"For example, only when alive can you have everything, but when dead, you have nothing. As a monster, it will only be a foil in the stories of the gods; as a demon, its resistance will become a laughing stock, and the world will only laugh at its incompetence."
"But these probably won't be of any use to Typhon. I can even guess how it will reply to him."
"Oh?"
"Nothing to be surprised about." Ander said with a smile: "It will probably just tell Zeus that I am a monster... I am originally a demon."
"..."
"You are right."
After a moment of silence, Hercules spoke calmly. He didn't know what the real situation was, but the great hero was willing to believe the puppet's guess.
Monsters and demons were symbols that Typhon was born with, and his luck and misfortune all came from this.
But the King of Monsters never cared about this... So no matter whether the gift of fate was good or not, when the day came when its price came, Hercules chose to accept it with pleasure.
·······
On the edge of the Holy Island, the great hero brewed his own potion. In the center of the Holy Island, several sea nymphs who woke up from coma could not accept the resistance of humans for a while, but they were afraid of the power of Hercules.
Before today, the humans in their memory never disobeyed the orders of the gods. And from the mouths of the gods who occasionally came to the Holy Island, they heard the piety and kindness of the gods' believers.
No matter who it is, as long as they are related to God, even if mortals are not his believers, they will definitely worship him. This is the innate nature of humans.
It was not until not long ago that the guy named Hercules broke in brazenly, and they panicked and realized that humans dared to hurt them just like demons.
This simply violated their past worldview and made people unbelievable.
Fortunately, a nymph raised a question at this moment, because the dragon Ladon was dead.
"He must not be human, because humans cannot defeat Ladon."
The nymph fairy further gave an example: "No gods can defeat the son of Typhon. Only the great God King can imprison him."
"That guy is definitely not human. He is the incarnation of an ancient god who is dissatisfied with the God Court. He came here to provoke the Queen of Heaven."
"What we should do most now is not other things, but to rush to the God Mountain to complain to the God King. A human overturned the garden of the Queen of Heaven and took away all the fruits here."
"With the God King's action, no matter who he is, he will not be able to get away with it."
As soon as the words came out, the nymph's words immediately won the approval of the people present.
The seven sea nymphs and nymphs immediately selected a representative to go to Olympus to accuse Hercules of the crime he committed.
As for the rest of the people, they will stay here and continue to complete the work assigned to them by Hera.
"Well... but speaking of that."
"That ancient god disguised as a human doesn't seem to know that there are more than just fruits on the trees in your majesty's orchard."
"Except for those that haven't been picked yet, the ones we have stored are the bulk, and they are also the inventory that your majesty will use when he entertains the gods."
After hesitating for a moment, before leaving, the sea fairy who was chosen to deliver the message suddenly said.
"It's a pity to say that we sisters have been guarding the golden apple orchard for so many years, but we have never tasted the taste of golden apples."
"You say... isn't this a pity?"
"..."
As soon as the words came out of her mouth, the sea fairy regretted it.
She was still too rash. How could she say what was in her heart like this. Although they had envied each other in casual chats on weekdays, the situation was different after all...
However, just when she was about to make amends, she unexpectedly found that the other few people had fallen silent.
The bare golden apple tree swayed in the wind. The sea nymph gritted her teeth and asked tentatively,
"How many golden apples did this mysterious ancient god who dared to challenge the God's Court take?"
"I don't remember how many fruits were on the tree before. Do any of you remember?"
There were 107 apples on the tree. She remembered it clearly.
But there was silence for a while, and a nymph whispered,
"I can't remember, maybe more than 100."
"Well, of course... I may have remembered it wrong, or maybe more."
"After all, that god was too powerful. We couldn't stop him even once when we were together."
"..."
No one refuted, and no one agreed.
At this moment, several sea nymphs and nymphs looked at each other.
If the legendary goddess of justice Themis was still in the mountain of gods, they would never dare to act recklessly.
In front of that prince, their lies were like jokes, and any of their sins would be exposed under the [Evil-Slaying Sword].
However, the goddess of law had already left the sacred mountain, and who would listen to the defense of an ancient god who had raided the golden apple garden?
"...It's not our fault. If you want to blame someone, blame this ancient god for being so evil."
"He disguised himself as a human, injured us, and took away three-tenths of the holy island... half... and all the golden apples! But there is nothing we can do about it. After all, his strength is too strong. Even Ladon was killed by him."
"In front of him, we are simply powerless to stop him with our strength."
"Alas... It's a pity that we have failed your majesty's trust. I'm afraid we will never see golden apples at your majesty's banquet next year... You see, why don't we all go and apologize to your majesty together?"
"...Okay."
"...You're right..."
"...Right..."
Looking at each other again, the few people seemed to have reached some kind of consensus.
Soon, an ocean current turned into a ship under the control of the sea fairy, carrying the seven people to the mainland.
The golden apple may not be of much use to the true gods, but they are not true gods either.
Especially for the nymphs who are transformed from plants, the golden apple is no less than a second life for them.
It would have been fine if there was no chance before, but now that there is a chance... who would not want such a treasure that takes the essence of heaven and earth?
...
The next day.
In the suburbs of Olympia, where he had fought not long ago.
Ares stood in full armor and solemnly.
The bronze chariot had been repaired, and the four Pegasus were lucky enough to be alive.
The God of War held a spear and a shield, reviewing the army that had been hastily organized in front of him.
When standing still, the formation was neat, but once it moved, the formation would probably be scattered... But the good morale made up for this, and each of them was a fanatical believer of the gods.
With little time, this was the best result Ares could ask himself.
With Olympia as the center, hundreds of thousands of fully armed soldiers were recruited by him, and millions of cannon fodder and farmers followed the army.
Even if he had not done anything yet, when he personally took on the role of commander of this army as a god, an extremely powerful force was bestowed on the God of War.
This was the first time he did this, and the effect was beyond Ares's expectations.
In the past, due to his status as a god, the God of War had almost never commanded an army of more than 100,000 people as a "commander-in-chief". He was more of a general and a warrior fighting on the battlefield.
But what he didn't expect was that when he finally did it, he suddenly discovered a detail that he hadn't noticed before - when he was in the vast army, as the real commander of the army, the power from the "royal order" seemed to begin to connect with himself.
For a moment, the suppression of the laws of the world seemed to be relaxed a little, and they were weakened by the order established by the King of Gods himself.
Feeling all this, Ares was almost in tears. It turns out that although the Father God is so strict with me, he still cares about me in his heart.
Long before everything started, he left himself a "back door"!
Not knowing that this was just a coincidence, the God of War was full of gratitude at this moment.
Come on, Father God, you watch from Mount Olympus.
This time, I will use the blood of my enemies to justify my title of God of War!
. Tap...
Squeak-
bang...
The unguarded door opened wide, and then closed behind them.
In the empty corridor, the clear sound of footsteps echoed in the palace, like the beat of a drum.
The witch's robe dragged on the ground, holding a scepter that was more symbolic than practical, and her expression was casual and natural.
Although the meeting was about to begin, she still had time to appreciate the murals and reliefs on the walls on both sides of the corridor.
A hundred years, a thousand years, history is condensed on them, which is also the unique hobby of people in this era.
They seem to have inherited the habit of writing history on stone tablets in the Golden Age, and like to engrave myths and facts on hard stones.
"But there is no meaning... It's really a useless sense of ritual."
Medea's mind diverged, criticizing the so-called tradition as usual.
After all, in the Golden Age, it was humans who chose stone instead of other things, probably just because of the limitations of technology.
In their eyes, stone is probably the most common and durable thing.
But as time passes, stone is no longer more durable or easier to write than a demon's skin... Wizards have a better way to make their writings last for thousands of years.
"Tradition always has its meaning, Medea, even for us."
"The powerful may not be old, but the old ones are mostly powerful."
"Learn to respect history and tradition... You are not young anymore."
At the end of the corridor, an old and gentle voice came from there.
It was this old guy again... A trace of fear flashed in his eyes, but Medea's rebuttal was not polite.
"Wrong reason."
"The real power must run through time and space, just like the common end of witchcraft, gods, and alchemy as we guessed."
"Let everything return to one point, one point is all. So the old may not be powerful, but the powerful must be old, this is the real truth."
"In contrast, some of the dregs of the old times should stay in the garbage dump, instead of being placed on the table and affecting the progress of later generations."
Medea was disdainful of the old man's words, although she knew that she was the one who was making a specious argument.
After all, the old man was talking about reality, and she was talking about unconfirmed conjectures... But that's how quarrels work.
She strode forward and passed the door at the end of the corridor.
The narrow space suddenly became wide, and behind the door was a huge semicircular conference room upside down on the ground.
Twelve tables were suspended in the air, and most of them were already occupied.
Except for those who couldn't come for the time being, was she the last one... Ignoring the angry eyes of a middle-aged man, Medea casually nodded to the old man who had spoken before.
Flying up, the witch came to her seat, and then leaned lazily on the armrest. She
swept her eyes across the conference room and found a timer.
Counting down three times, Medea said lightly:
"Well, 3...2...1...I'm here, and I'm three breaths ahead of time, not late."
"So if there is no problem, can we start? After all, everyone's time is very tight, there is no need to waste it here."
"You——!"
The middle-aged wizard stood up angrily and slammed the table.
This indifferent attitude again. He had long disliked this witch of the descent of God who never behaved properly.
However, Medea did not even look at him for his anger.
She just looked at the old man at the top and asked him what was going on with her eyes.
"Ahem... Okay, Erwin, sit down first."
"Medea, you should also stop talking."
At the front of the twelve suspended platforms, the old man tapped the ground with a dark oak cane and looked at the witch.
Turbid eyes, sparse hair, weak breath of life... No matter how you look at it, this is a person who is about to die.
However, looking at this scene, Medea took a deep breath and barely sat up.
A hundred years ago, this old guy was already like this. At that time, she thought he was finally going to die, but a hundred years later, he still looked like he was half dead.
The witch was not very sure about how he broke through the limit of mortal life, but one thing was certain.
She was indeed very afraid of this old guy, so although she always used various ways to test his state, as long as the other party was serious, she would still remain cautious.
"... Very good."
Retracting his gaze, the old man's smile was still gentle.
"Since everyone is here, let's get started."
"In fact, the reason why I summoned you here today is because of a matter that concerns the future and survival of the White Tower."
"Some of you may have known it for a long time, and some of you don't care about worldly affairs... But it doesn't matter, I will explain everything clearly."
"Thirteen days ago, the main god of Mount Olympus, the god of war Ares, descended on Olympia."
"Seven days ago, under his call, hundreds of thousands of troops and millions of farmers and servants gathered around their royal city."
"They were ready to fight at any time, calling on priests and nobles from all directions."
"Two days ago, Ares personally took the position of commander-in-chief and led a million troops all the way east."
"And the purpose of his declared military action... is the respected sage, the apprentice of the goddess of the magic network, the centaur Chiron."
He paused for a moment, as if giving people time to digest the news. Someone on the high platform asked directly.
"So what do you mean?"
"Not me," the old man shook his head, "it's us."
"Years ago, the stars had already guided the war in the world. But when will the war come, to what extent will it develop, and whether it has anything to do with us, this has always been a mystery."
"Until today, the God of War put an end to these speculations with his own death. This war will affect both the human and god worlds, and Silvermoon City will not be spared."
"Ares, the God of War of Olympus, he must be like a fish in water in such an environment - but what we really need to discuss now is whether we should do anything in this war, to what extent we should do it, and how we should do it."
"I know that some of you may have other ideas, and staying in Silvermoon City is not an inevitable choice for you."
"But anyway, since you are still here, Ares's army is the problem we need to face."
The old man's words were very clear, and when his voice fell, the people on the suspended platform looked at each other subconsciously.
Other ideas... Yes, although they are familiar with each other, no one dares to be sure of others' positions.
For a long time, until one moment, Medea took the lead in breaking the silence.
"I abstain."
The witch spoke calmly, her eyes sweeping across the hall.
"I will fulfill my responsibilities as the owner of the clock tower and protect this city, but that's all." "As for the rest, I won't participate."
"I also abstain."
Immediately afterwards, a wizard who looked like a teenager and whose real age was unknown stood up.
"The Centaur's behavior is too crazy. He has the goddess to rely on, but we don't."
"I abstain too." "I abstain too."
"I abstain too."
"I will not participate in the following discussion...whether you fail or succeed."
The next moment, two more voices sounded, and then two spiritual lights flashed.
Following Medea and the young wizard, the two tower masters who chose to 'abstain' directly teleported out of the hall according to the process. Since they
gave up their stance, they also gave up their right to know.
No matter what happened here later, it had nothing to do with them.
"Four people abstain...are there anyone else who wants to abstain?"
The old man's face was neither sad nor happy, and his eyes swept across the people present.
"This is not your obligation, and you also have the right to choose to refuse."
"..."
No one answered for a long time, and the hall was silent.
Until a certain moment, a gray-haired old woman who also leaned on a cane gently knocked on the ground.
From the outside, she was not much younger than the old man. If the latter should have been lying in the coffin, then she was only one step away.
"It's time... Those who should have left have left."
"Medea is a descendant of the gods. She still has a long life. She won't take risks."
"Although Qi Rui is not young anymore, we old guys can guess that he wants to go to hell - the world of those devils."
"They all have their own ideas, which is nothing bad, but shouldn't you also tell us about your plans?"
"Half of the remaining people here are your disciples... You shouldn't be afraid of anything."
"Caution... is always necessary."
The old man spoke lightly and moved his fingers.
Silently, pieces of paper filled with small words appeared in front of the people present.
"A contract to keep a secret... I have to say that the devils are really powerful in this regard."
"If their rules were not too strict, I might not have come to this step..."
After the signed contracts were ignited without wind, and the invisible constraints officially took effect, the old man finally nodded slowly.
A hint of coldness flashed across his cloudy eyes, and he spoke calmly, telling his real plan.
"In fact, you should have some guesses about the experiments I have done over the years... Even if you don't know at first, as long as you think more, you can always find some connection."
"Yes, if nothing unexpected happens, what you did in private should be related to God."
The old woman shook her head gently with an expression of "as expected".
"But my guess only stops here. I still don't know what you have done and what you plan to do. In fact, I am more curious about... Since you have found a way to prolong your life, with your personality, you would choose to continue taking risks?"
"This is unreasonable and does not conform to your usual code of conduct. The only explanation is that you have run out of materials."
"After all, materials from gods are not so easy to obtain, unless you capture a living god. So your goal in this war is the flesh and blood of gods or something else, right?"
"If you want to attack Ares, it won't be that easy."
"..."
"Haha... You really understand me."
After a moment of silence, the old man laughed a few times, as if he was sighing at the old woman's eyes.
"Indeed, unless we can capture a god, no matter how many materials we have, there will come a day when they will run out."
"But you're wrong about one thing. What happens to Ares has nothing to do with me. Although he is very powerful among the gods, for my experiment, the strength of the gods is not important."
"In fact, compared to Ares, my target is someone else... I wonder if you have heard of Astraeus, the ancient god of the stars?"
"God of the stars?"
The old woman frowned, then quickly relaxed:
"I remember him, the offspring of the Titan god, who has not appeared in the world for thousands of years... Wait, you don't want to capture him directly, do you? You want to capture a god?"
"Isn't that possible?"
The old man smiled lightly.
"Gods can be hunted. But in order to prevent accidents, I need you to defeat Ares on the front battlefield and attract enough attention for me, and even attract the attention of all the gods who have time to pay attention to the human world."
"Only in this way can I complete my plan."
"And in return, I will sign a contract with you. As long as my plan succeeds, I will put Astraeus under our joint surveillance, and anyone has the right to study the secrets of the gods through him."
"At the same time, I will also hand over the site and part of the data of my previous experiments to you, and share my results with you."
"How about it? This sincerity should be enough."
"Every word I said before can be written into the contract, and the creations of those devils will witness my oath."
Is it enough?
Of course it is enough, and it even exceeds the old woman's previous expectations.
Handing over the experimental site, opening up the preliminary data, and even sharing the biggest victory - the gods who will be successfully captured in the future.
According to her previous thoughts, it was a very good result that the old guy was willing to sign a contract and promised to share enough finished products with them.
However, the old woman could not help but have some doubts.
"...Okay, but I will draft the contract. Of course, you can watch."
After thinking for a while, the old woman still did not find any problems. She finally did not resist the temptation.
"As for Ares, he is not a problem."
"Even if the priesthood of [War] can bring him extra power, he is not alone."
"And dealing with the army of mortals is simply a piece of cake."
Immortality... I didn't take it seriously when I was young. It was not
until I got old that I realized the value of this word.
She sighed in her heart. If possible, the old woman didn't want to do such a risky thing, but she didn't have time.
Even though she knew the road ahead was risky, she had no choice but to walk forward in the dark with a lantern.